I was not able to attend the December 1st BESE meeting, but I have been able to review some of the footage. Had I been elected to BESE this fall I might have had a chance to respond to some of the inane/insane comments nonchalantly being spewed from the mouths of raving idiots, like BESE President Chas Roemer, in person. However billionaires from out of state were terrified of me speaking the truth in public. They spent millions of dollars in this year’s elections to keep that from happening.
I’m flattered, but undeterred. Even billionaires will run out of money eventually if they keep spending millions of dollars each month to shut me up, and they won’t be successful in the end, just poorer and most desperate seeming.
And, as it turns out, it might be more fun for me to simply quote the idiots they backed in these elections and have backed in previous ones. As those billionaires are probably finding out across the country, the problem with buying fools like Roemer is, well, that they are fools. Fools usually don’t know they are fools, but they do like to show it.
Unlike what Lane Grigsby did with his Empower PAC, and Stand For Children Louisiana did with theirs this year, I don’t have to splice or misrepresent video together to make my points. I don’t have to lie or deceive people to agree with me or invent phone news broadcasts, all I have to do is show the truth and let people decide what and who to believe.
The charter school law in Louisiana was written to encourage the implementation of innovative new education concepts. It is even written that way in the law. Innovation is a vague term, but here’s what Webster’s says.
Simple Definition of innovation
: a new idea, device, or method
: the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods
Though vague it’s pretty straightforward. By the very nature of innovation you can’t possibly define every innovation ahead of time, but you would probably know it when you see it or hear it. I think we can all agree that what is clearly not innovative is something that is done a lot, currently, in the same place, already.
Superintendent of the East Baton Rouge school system, Warren Drake, explains to the BESE board one of the reasons EBR did not approve the charter applications for two charter schools, Laurel Oaks and APEX, is that they are clearly not innovative, as the law describes is the goal of bringing in charter schools. Drake explains to the board that not only are they not innovative, but they have “many” schools in the system that do the exact same things these charter schools are proposing to do already. Drake pleads with the board not to override EBR’s decision and approve the two schools as it will put a strain on the system he just took over and they are clearly not the innovation the charter law singles out as the goal. Drake also provides a pretty good definition of the word “innovation.”
BESE President Chas Roemer decided this was a good time to add his own two cents(that really sounded like nonsense.) He argues about the definition of innovation and provides his own definition. He explains that innovation isn’t just a better “mouse trap” but it’s the “attitude in the building”. Roemer then proceeds to explain he doesn’t want to argue about the definition of innovation ( after already doing that.) Chas also explains he’s not arguing, but he could if he had too, thus illustrating he doesn’t understand what the word argue means either.
Sadly, I think the word “irony” is not a word Roemer understands the definition too either but I bet it would be fun to hear what his definition might be.
Chas’ sister, Caroline Shirley Roemer, is also the executive director of the Louisiana Charter Association. Her job is to get as many charter schools opened as quickly as possible. I wonder if that might have influenced Chas Roemer’s quite liberal, one might even say innovative, definition of the word “innovation” too?
To me it sounds like Roemer has been watching too many videos of Bill Clinton waffling over the definition of the word “is”.
Examples like theseare why character and integrity are important in a politician. Without those two qualities, pols can basically do what they want by creatively misinterpreting any laws that get in the way of their agendas.
Crazy Crawfish 